Muse
by Alice001
Summary: Tifa muses over Cloud. CloTi!


Once again, another CloTi one-shot. I think this is what you get after watching Advent Children about five times in a row. Sooo…I hope you like it!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything.

Rated: T

Pairing: CloTi

Summary: Tifa muses over Cloud, and then she goes and fixes Cloud up when he gets hurt and talks to him about it.

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Muse

Alice001

She stared at the dull painting on the wall which hung on its side; she didn't bother to straighten it. Maybe she was too tired, or maybe she just didn't feel like it. Cleaning supplies were scattered in various places within the bar. A duster here, a small white cloth there. The bright yellow rubber gloves though, still remained on her delicate hands as she drummed her fingers against the counter. One of the gloved hands held the side of her face. She was supposed to be cleaning, but her recent thoughts had slowed her down.

She tried not think. She tried not to care. She tried…but always seemed to fail miserably. Now here she was thinking over the subject to hard. The subject being the one and only Cloud Strife. Who knows how long she had been in love with the certain blonde hair, blue-eyed warrior, but it was as long as she could remember.

He had recently come back from the one place she didn't like. The one place he found solitude and peace. She drummed her finger more frantically now as this thought crossed her mind. She hated how he found more peace there than here! It was completely absurd. She grew angry and jerked off the rubber gloves and threw them onto the spotless bar floor.

She walked down into the basement where he was lifting weights with his shirt off. He once told her it helped with sweating and circulation. But Denzel and Marlene had insisted that it was because he wanted to impress Tifa. The martial artist blushed just thinking about how red Cloud got after hearing that.

She leaned against the wooden door frame and crossed her arms. She watched him for a while, not speaking, not moving. She listened to the little grunts he made whenever he lifted the weight up, or the pain had been too much. She watched as he dropped the last weight and walked over to the corner where his sword laid.

He picked it up and slung it over his shoulder. Then he grunted in pain as the blade slashed a small portion of his back. He dropped the sword back into the corner and gently put his fingers to the wound. He winced as the pain spread throughout his body. He took a seat on one of the plush stools that Tifa had kept there for extra storage.

Tifa, meanwhile, had ran up and gotten a big bandage and wound cleaners. She grabbed a couple of other items she thought that she needed and ran back downstairs. Cloud sat there on the stool. She ran down the stairs and over to him. He looked back at Tifa as she ran noisily over to him.

"Tifa?" He asked and raised his blonde eyebrows at her. She just glanced back at him as she started putting her supplies she gathered onto the ground.

"Tifa, what are you doing?" He asked and tried to turn around to face her, but the pain in his back wouldn't let him. Tifa didn't answer, instead she grabbed a cotton ball and drenched it with a wound cleaning fluid. Then she proceeded to gently dab it onto the wound.

"This might sting." She warned and for the second time, Cloud winced in pain. After she was done with the cotton ball she carelessly threw it onto the ground.

"Are you okay?" She asked concerned and the warrior nodded once. "You need to be more careful with your swords Cloud." She scolded and Cloud pretended to hear her nagging. After Tifa applied the bandage, he stood up and picked his sword up again (a little more carefully this time) and started to walk up the stairs. He stopped on the third step and turned around.

"Tifa," he began and Tifa looked up at him, "I'm leaving for a while. I'll be back later." He began to walk up back the stairs. Tifa left all the supplies there and ran after him.

"What?" She asked and continued to follow him as he walked into the bar and sat down onto a stool with his hands on his temples. "You're _leaving_? Again? Where?" She demanded.

"I need to think about some things." He replied while rubbing his temples now.

"Why can't you think about it here?" Tifa asked and took a deep breath. She was beginning to yell.

"I need a place where I can…where I can…think in peace." He said and Tifa walked behind the counter and went into the back and grabbed and old rag. She came back out and Cloud was staring at her intently. Tifa walked to one of the tables and began wiping.

"Well then, leave. " She said without looking at him. "Leave and don't come back. You only come back because you're afraid right? Afraid I'll be mad, or the kids will be." Tifa stopped cleaning and left the rag on the table. She walked to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"But, I could never hate you Cloud. I could never be mad at you. Not even if I tried." She said and they looked at each other for a while.

Cloud could think here right? The only thing that distracted him here was Tifa. He felt bad betraying Aeris, but even she wanted him to be happy. And Cloud seemed much happier when she was around Tifa. She had a special power of making him smile and laugh when he didn't want to. He knew that he would go back to the Church. He knew what he would. Cloud would mope for a while and then come home. He knew Tifa didn't like not only the Church, but the fact that he sulked.

There was no doubt that Tifa loved Aeris like a sister and missed her terribly, but she should get a chance to be happy too right? Didn't she at least have that right? After everything she had went though, happiness seemed like an adequate prize. Tifa turned away now and walked upstairs to her room. Cloud sat there for a while debating on what to do.

'_I'm sorry Aeris.' _He thought before getting up and running after Tifa. He took the steps two at a time until he reached Tifa's room, which was on the landing. He rapped on the door twice before opening it. Tifa was on the bed face down. Cloud could hear the muffled sobs she let out.

"Tifa?" He asked hesitant and Tifa turned around and looked at him with tear filled eyes. She jumped off of the bed and ran into his bare chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed onto his chest.

"I'm so sorry Cloud." She said in between sobs. "I didn't mean it! I don't want you to leave! It just came out. I'm so sorry. Please don't go though. Please…just stay here…with me." Cloud didn't know what to say to the weeping girl so he just put his arms around her and stroked her hair lovingly.

"Shh…Tifa…shh…I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to leave. I'll be here…with you." He whispered and she clutched tighter.

He lead Tifa to her bed and made her sit down. They released each other and he went to go grab a tissue. He came back and handed back to Tifa. She smiled gratefully at him and started to wipe her tears away. Cloud slowly sat down o the bed next to her and put an arm around her. She leaned against his muscular frame and practiced breathing in and out normally.

"Tifa, are you alright?" Cloud asked and she nodded.

"I just got scared that's all. I really thought you were going to leave." She replied. They both sat in silence until Tifa began to speak again.

"Cloud?" She lifted her head to look at him. "Do you really find more peace there than here?" Did she really want to know the answer?

"I used to…but I realized that here is much more peaceful…and happier. Here, with you, is better." He said and squeezed her slightly.

He kissed her forehead and got up.

"I'm sorry too Tifa." He said.

"It's okay." She replied and smiled and she also got up.

"Get cleaned up. The kids should be home soon." He said.

Cloud pulled Tifa close to him and placed a small sweet kiss on her lips before leaving.

Tifa blushed and smiled. She hummed while walking over to the bathroom and washed her face. As she left her room, Tifa swore that she saw Aeris sitting on her bed smiling at her.

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I hope you liked it! It took me a while to put together. It might not be the best, but it isn't the worst right?

Please review!!


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